John sheeey



- J. SHERRY V Hollow Air Tight Brace for Steam and other Vessels.

No. 230,721. V Patented Aug. 3,1880.

N PEI'ERS. FHOTO-HTHOGR APMER. WASHINGTON, D. C

. JOHN SHERRY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

HOLLOW AIR-TIGHT BRACE FOR STEAM AND OTHER VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 230,721, dated August 3, 1880.

Application filed September 29, 1879.

York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hollow Air-Tight Braces for Steam and other Vessels, the construction and operation of which will be fully understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a sideview. Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the line 00 .19.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. 7

The object of this invention is to provide airchambers adapted to be applied to steam boats, but more especially to ferry-boats or those in which the decks overhang; and it consists more particularly in building the airchambers in such a manner that they will be practically independent of the side of the vessel for the formation of the air-space, will form both knees and braces for the support of the overhanging decks, will have the largest amount ofair-chamberin the smallest available space, and be capable of being applied,

all complete, to an ordinary ferry-boat in a short space of time, whereby an old boat may in a few hours be readily stiffened and buoyed up, so to enter upon a new era of service that it could not safely be made to do unless strengthened and buoyed up in this manner.

In carrying out my invention I preparea metallic air-chamber, B, of any suitable metal, and of such thickness as may be deemed expedient, according to the size and strength of the boat. These air-chambers I place beneath the overhanging guard A and against the side of the .hull, as shown in the drawings, and secure them there in such a manner that the air-chambers form hollow girders beneath the guards, which not only serve to strengthen the boat, but also assist to keep it on an even keel, and would help to keep the boatafloat iucase of accident to the hull.

By the use of these girder air-chambers an old boat may have the braces supporting the guards stripped from it and in a few hours their places supplied with hollow girders, which will not only serve the same purpose as the braces, but will stiffen the hull longitudinally, so as to make the old boat stronger than it was when new.

I am aware that it is'not new to build airchambers of a similar crosssection in the side of boats, so as to form apart thereof that the frame-work of life-boats has been made hollow; that air-chambers of various forms have been attached to boats, and that metallic plates have been secured to the sides of boats, so as to brace the guards and form air-chambers be.- tween the plates and the hull and guards of the vessel; but none of these show a hollow girder adapted to be used and applied in the manner shown in my improvement.

What I claim as new is The combination, with the hull of a vessel.

having the guards A, of the hollow air-tight metallic girder 13, having one of its continuous angular sides adapted to fit against the hull, another similar side extending horizontally to support the guard, and the third side arranged as a brace between the two sides, the girder forming an independent removable air-chamber and a support and bracefor the guards, substantially as described.

JOHN SHERRY.

Witnesses: V

H. I. OVERMANN, WILLIAM H. LEWIS. 

